"Between the '60s and the '80s, it just got worse and worse," says Jason Kessler, the editor and founder of Fly and Dine, a food blog for frequent fliers. It was like airlines began using "a weird outdated robot who was putting things down a conveyor belt with no thought or care," he tells The Salt. Think tin foil-topped packages of mushy mystery meat.

Add to that the oil crisis and airline deregulation, which further brought fares down and competition up, and the airlines didn't have as much cash to spend on customers. "Cost made good food go away," Kessler says.

That is, of course, unless you were traveling internationally.

If you are hungry to relive those polyester days of "five-star dinners and unlimited cocktails" on an international flight of the 1970s, head to Los Angeles. A film studio hosts a retro dinner on a stage set up to look like a Pan Am double-decker 747. Note: You'll have to shell out a couple hundred bucks and show up dressed to the nines in period garb.

Break out the polyester: For a price, you can go back in time on an L.A. sound set and enjoy a meal in the style of an international Pan Am flight in the 1970s, complete with linens and china. Photo: Courtesy of Michael Kelley/Air Hollywood

By the go-go 1980s, airlines began looking for ways to distinguish themselves. One way to do that was to improve the food. "Determined to remove the stigma attached to airline food, in 1988 American became the first airline to enlist the expertise of prominent and well-respected chefs to help craft the direction of its inflight food service," says an American Airlines press release from 2008.

Hungry? These peanuts and drink, served aboard a Delta flight in July, are about all you'll get on domestic flights these days. Photo: Ron Cogswell/Flickr — **Hungry?** These peanuts and drink, served aboard a Delta flight in July, are about all you'll get on domestic flights these days. Photo: Ron Cogswell/Flickr

Alas, only elite fliers got to enjoy the upgraded meals. The program, known as Chefs' Conclave, let first-class and business passengers sample meals — like Chipotle BBQ short ribs and charred tomato and eggplant soup — designed by top regional chefs.

Chef's Conclave was discontinued in 2013, around the time American began its merger with US Airways.

"We actually no longer use celebrity chefs in our menu design process," Laura Nedbal, a spokeswoman for American, tells us via email. From now on, she writes, the airline will be turning to "internal talent" to create its passenger meals.

Still, amid the economic turmoil and terrorist threats of the last two decades, the quality and quantity of airline food has continued to decline, particularly in coach.

"The airlines run so lean that they have to cut costs wherever they can," says Kessler. "Instead of offering meals to everybody, you have to buy it on board or you don't get anything."

So what's a passenger in the cheap seats to do? Pack your own grub or grab something at the terminal, which isn't nearly as bleak-sounding as it used to be.

"Terminals have completely transformed," Kessler says.

For example, the newly rehabbed Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX boasts a handful of boutique restaurants developed by celebrity chefs. And many major terminals around the country now house upscale wine bars, full-service diners and grab-and-go fare — including salads, yogurt and other, more healthful options than in years past.

Technology is also helping to connect passengers with food beyond the confines of the airport.

If you're flying into Finland or Amsterdam, you can now shop online mid-flight and pick up your groceries at the airport in refrigerated lockers. Now that's an idea we'd like to see land on our side of the pond.

Copyright 2014 NPR.

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